


Shatter Like Glass

by supercalivirgilistic



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Depression, Happy Ending, M/M, kenhina - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-11 09:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7886320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercalivirgilistic/pseuds/supercalivirgilistic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma has been on the edge of a cliff for a while now, but recently, he feels he might slip.</p><p>Kuroo can sense something has changed in his friend, but he has no idea what it could be. </p><p>When Kenma trips, will anyone be there to catch him before he falls?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I just want to say something about the title: 'tears' is not referring to crying, but rather like the synonym to rip.  
> Also, if anyone has any idea about what to change the title to, that'd be great, cause I'm definetly not satisfied.

See me

 

Kenma sighed as he sat on his bed. A plate of food sat on the desk, but he had no desire to eat it.

In fact, the aroma was making him sick. Swallowing, he lay down and stuffed his face into the pillow, trying to block out the smell. 

But, in the silence, thoughts and memories of words sliced through his mind.

Of the guys at school who always taunted him for his silence, for being the obvious least-skilled person on the team - and the setter, at that.

Kenma didn't have the height of Lev, the quick reflexes of Yaku, the optimism of Inuoka, the power or intimidation of Kuroo, or the skill of anyone else on the team, regular or otherwise.

He was unsociable, and awkward in conversations. He didn't even talk with Kuroo, mostly. 

He didn't talk to his parents either, but that was different. Kenma's mother was a quiet person in general, and didn't talk to her family. His father..... When he was home, he was drunk, and it was Kenma's job to keep him away from Mother. 

While this usually ended in a bruised, aching body, Kenma didn't think it mattered as his mother treated his wounds after his father dropped off, due for a hangover in the morning, with tears in her eyes just waiting to fall.

Kenma didn't let anyone know about his home life. Not even Kuroo or Kuroo's parents knew, and Kenma planned to keep it that way. 

_I don't need his pity, and I don't want it. I want him to remain my friend, Kuro._

Kenma peeked out of the corner of his eye as Okaa-san drifted into his room to take his plate.

"Kenma, you haven't eaten in days, you need to at least get a bit of something in your system." She says, resting a hand on his head.

"I know, Kaa-san." I say, turning my head slightly. "I'll get a snack later if I'm hungry."

He saw the worried glint in her eye as she missed his hair before leaving the room, and a deep pang drive into his heart, adding to the heavy stone in the pit of his stomach. 

 _Nobody should worry about me._ He thought. _I'm not worth it._

Kenma closed his eyes and curled into a ball, wincing as the cuts on his side rubbed against each other and the material of his shirt.

A crash resounded from downstairs, and Kenma sighed, dragging his body up, swaying for a second before padding lightly towards his door, not bothering to wait for the darkness to clear from his vision.

As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, the first thing Kenma sees is his father, arm raised to hit the woman in front of him. 

Eyes widening, Kenma races forward, standing in front of his mother, raising his arms in an x in front of his face, taking the blow. 

In his weakened condition, the blow causes his knees to give out beneath him, and, he stares up at his mother from his position in the floor, silently telling her to go to the Kuroo house for a bit. She shakes her head a bit before nodding and fleeing. 

Letting out a releoved breath, Kenma switched the emotionless gaze to his father, who stood above him, anger drawing his face.

The smell of alcohol made Kenma's head spin, and he found that as soon as he managed to get to his feet, he was back on the ground again. 

As caught up in his own confusion as he was, Kenma didn't see the foot coming his direction until suddenly he was flat back in the ground, legs shaking as he attempted to get up once again. There was an aching spot on the side of his forehead, easily overlooked in face of the splitting pain coming from the back of Kenma's head. 

Kenma didn't pay it much mind, as it wouldn't do much good to worry about it at the time anyways.

This was a good night anyways. Mother had left before anything had really happened, so he was free to let himself drift away from the situation. He thought about the middle blocker from Karasuno, who had a boundless energy no matter what happened, who had thrust himself into Kenma's life without hesitation.  

He wondered why. Why, when there were so many people around, did Hinata choose Kenma to become friends with?

Kenma didn't realize that his father had left until he was being shaken, his mothers worried face hovering above him, blurry. A few drops of liquid landed on his face, and Kenma lifted a hand to touch one. Water? Tears? Why? Who cared enough to cry for him? 

As the blurriness faded in and out, he caught sight of his mother's face. Kenma was cradled in her arms, like he was a little boy again. 

She was apologizing as she looked down on his face 

"I'm so sorry, Kenma. So, so sorry. It's my fault, if I could just... just protect myself, you wouldn't have to get hurt like this.." She said, gasping for breath in between soft sobs.

Kenma averted his eyes and offered a small, fake smile, meant to soothe her. "It's fine, Kaa-san. I'll be better soon enough."

She gave a shaky smile in turn. Swiping tears off of her cheeks, she nodded. "Of course"

Kenma tried to stand, swaying on his feet before moving off towards the stairs. 

 

Late that night, with all of his wounds attended to, and his mother fast asleep on his bed, as there was no way he'd let her sleep in a bed with the drunkard, he crept into the bathroom. He shut the door softly before he turned on the light and walked to the sink. Climbing up onto the sink, he stood up and slid his hand along the top of the cabinet. His hand brushed a handle, and he grabbed it before jumping lightly back down. Sitting on the counter, he stared at the knife in his hands. Kenma slid his shirt off and set it on the floor. He turned the water on and washed the knife of anything that might've been on it. Kenma then pulled the waistband of his shorts down a bit.as he looked down, he observed the cuts already healed or almost healed on his body. Thy lined his rib age, and were marked in straight, neat lines on his hipbones. As he put a new line on the very top of the side of his thigh, where it wouldn't be seen, even in his volleyball uniform, he felt the heavy stone in his chest loosen up, just a bit. 

After a while, Kenma washed the knife off, put bandages on the still-bleeding cuts, and set the knife back in its place, unseen by anyone but him.

He turned the light off before he left the bathroom, heavy feeling still there, but nowhere near as bad as it had been. He sat at the table, laying his head down and quickly falling asleep, not bothering to change out of his practice clothes from the day before. 

As he fell asleep, his last thought was of a sun-like smile on a familiar day.

\----

The Next Week

  Kenma sighed as he walked down to the gym. There was a hand shaped bruise clear on his arm, and less obvious bruising underneath his clothes. They were from a fall down the stairs and the grip of someone who had tried to stop the fall and has gripped too tightly - or at least, that was the story if anyone happened to ask.

He doubted they would, because why should anyone care about him?

Ans if they did, out of curiosity than anything else, well, Kenma was sure they didn't want to know about the guys who hurt Kenma in some way every day, be it insults or hitting, pushing him down the stairs or snatching a book and running off with it, anything.

They didn't need to know, for the most part, and Kenma bet they would just look down on him if they knew anyways.

So he kept silent, and made excuses.

 

At practice, the coach gave an announcement. 

"Tommorow, Karasuno is coming to Tokyo for an extende visit. We'll be having a few practice matches with them over the course of that time, so make sure you're in top condition."

As he said the last part, he looked at Kenma. He'd noticed the boy's extreme loss of weight in the past 3 weeks, and it worried him. 

Remembering the effect Karasuno's number 10 had on the Nekoma setter, Nekomata hopes that the sunny boy would do something about it.

\----

Thats all for today, I lost inspiration. 

Ah, and this was supposed to be a one-shot.... Oh well. (Sigh)


	2. Chapter 2

2

 

Kenma walked quietly next to Kuroo, as he did every morning on the way to school.

And if he had to walk that much faster to keep up with his friend's pace, it wasn't something Kenma would mention.

Kuroo spoke about anything and everything, from things he had heard to what he ate that morning to his school life.

Recently, he was more animated when talking. Apparently he had found a few friends in his class, and told me that there was a new girl transferring in a couple of days. From what I heard, she was the cousin of one of his friends, and the friend claimed that she was really pretty. 

When he said that, laughing afterwards and continuing to talk animatedly about all his friends, Kenma felt his heart start to pound faster, his chest tightening, finding it that much harder to breathe. Kuroo didn't notice, for the most part, though Kenma found that he didn't have to walk fast at all after Kuroo slowed his pace considerably.

With the school in sight, Kenma found that he was becoming increasingly self-concious. He ducked his head, staring hard at the ground as his hair came forward to partially shield his face from those around him. 

Nobody would dare approach Kenma with Kuro by his side, but that didn't mean Kenma felt any more at ease than before. 

After all, wouldn't Kuroo just disregard any comments made towards Kenma? 

\-----------

Volleyball Practice

 

Kenma set another ball to Lev, judging the course and height and speed needed to execute the perfect spike. 

It went without a hitch, luckily. Kuroo gave a cheeky smile to Kenma and their teammates, as if he knew it would happen that way.

Kenma wasn't sure how Kuro had that confidence.

\---

The Karasuno team walked in the Nekoma doors two days later. Hinata immediately bounded over to the setter, with a loud cry of "KEENNMMMAAAAAAAA!!" 

Kenma, himself, had glanced over warily when he heard the loud voice, and when he looked up, he was met with bright, shining amber eyes. 

He was instantly grabbed into warm, tight arms. It was...... Undeniably comforting, and the emotions that had been swirling in his chest for who know how long were gone in a split second. A soft smile, real this time, came out onto Kenma's face as he returned the hug.

But then, suddenly, Hinata was in front of him, analyzing Kenma's body seriously, a worried furrow in his brow. 

"Kenma, you're not eating are you?" He said, voice frightening calm, staring at Kenma with a dead-pan expression on his face.

Caught off guard, Kenma could only shake his head slightly. 

Hinata's eyes narrowed and he gripped Kenma's arm lightly before dragging the setter off. The Karasuno  and Nekoma teams stared at them as they left, the Daichi and Yaku shaking their heads, while Kuroo and Suga had smiles, though Suga's was more motherly, while Kuroo's was an "I know something you don't know" kind of grin.

-

Hinata sat Kenma down at Kenma's kitchen table and immediately started to dart around the kitchen. 

Eventually, he sat a bowl in front of Kenma. 

The setter stared down at it before looking back up to Hinata. 

"You can cook?" He asked. 

Hinata nodded. "Yep. I cook all sorts of things, if I can reach the ingredients." He said. He'd said the first part proudly, but the last part was said with a pout and an irritated voice.  "Anyways, eat up!" The boy said, pointing needlessly at the bowl. "It's easy to digest so it'll be fine to eat at least a bit of it even if you haven't eaten in a while." 

Kenma stared at Hinata with wide eyes, uncomprehending. "W-why....?" He managed to ask. 

Hinata blinked at him. "Why? Why what? You're my friend! I'll do, like, anything for you!" He exclaimed, staring seriously at Kenma right before giving an ear-to-ear grin. 

Kenma froze for a second, studying Hinata before relaxing, giving another smile. "Right." He said in response, and put a spoonful of whatever Shoyo had made in his mouth. Swallowing it, he let out a happy sigh. 

"It's good." He mumbled, peeking up at Hinata through his eyelashes.

The younger boy was watching him happily, humming some song Kenma hadn't ever heard before.

He thought it was beautiful.

\---

(who cares about logic I'm making up possibilities and Karasuno will go to Nekoma for a bit.)(Kenma's a first year for shipping's sake.)

It was the first day that Hinata would be going to Kenma's school with him. 

He was excited. His heart was pounding, but in a good way.

It was nice.

Hinata had been put in all of Kenma's classes with him. According to Ukai, the goal was to get Hinata to get better grades in class, with Kenma to help him. 

Of course, this was completely fine with Kenma. To him, everything was better when Hinata as there. Hinata's contagious energy made Kenma lighter during class - he smiled more, talked more, and, as Hinata drew people to him like a magnet, Kenma was more social. He found that he wasn't only talking to Hinata.

Kageyama was in a different class, probably with one of the other 1st years on the team. 

After school was over with, Kenma walked with Hinata down to the gym. Hinata was talking energetically beside him, and Kenma talked too, in between bidding and shaking his head to various things Hinata said, about volleyball, about school, about everyday life in general.

It was nice. 

-

After Practice

  Kenma walked home, quiet again. He was warm, relaxed. Kuroo walked next to him, talking about some girl he had a crush on in his class. 

Kenma was listening, but he wasn't talking much. Kuroo didn't seem to mind. When Kenma started to walk over to his house, beside Kuro's, Kuroo mussed Kenma's hair before smiling and disappearing into his own house. 

The setter frowned before shaking his head and moving into his own house. He saw his father already passed out on the couch. His mother was talking with someone in the kitchen, and a familiar voice drifted to Kenma's ears. 

Blinking, Kenma walked into the kitchen. Hinata sat at the table, talking animatedly to the setters mom. Okaa-san was smiling gently as she listened, occasionally laughing.

It had been years since Kenma had heard his mother laugh, so for a while he just stood in the doorway, watching as Hinata changed the lonely kitchen of his house into the warm one of a home.

It took a minute for Hinata to notice Kenma, but when he did, he immediately leaped at Kenma, shouting out his name as usual. 

Kenma braced himself for the inevitable hug that he knew Shoyo would be giving. 

"Kenma, Kenma, your mother is so nice!! And it's so GWAH in here and I'm just like UAHHHH inside cause I'm so excited and I'm going to make sure you eat lots because it's not a fair win if the setter isn't at his best and your my friend so i have to make sure you eat enough, yknow? And Kenma! Remember that multiplayer game I was talking about when I texted you awhile back? I brought it so we can play!"

Kenma just smiled, nodding. "I'm glad. But, Shoyo, why are you here?" He asked.

Hinata blinked at that, before laughing. "Ah, right! That's what I was supposed to be telling your Okaa-san before! Ehehe...."

"Shouyou."

"Right, right. Um, well, see, Karasuno is going to be staying with the Nekoma team and I and Sugawara-san were told to come here; Suga-san will come by later, he and Daichi are exploring a bit before they settle down. Sorry for the intrusion!" He bowed afterwards, knocking his head into Kenma's chest, before backing up awkwardly.

Kenma went pale, and gave a frightened look to his mother. 

She was surprised, but was looking towards the living room with a blank expression. 

She opened her mouth. "Hinata-kun, I think it would be better if you and Sugawara-kun stayed somewhere else for the trip." She said softly, forlorn. Hinata looked up. 

"Huh?" He asked, be was about to continue when another voice cut in.

"If it's family trouble, we'll be sure to leave when you ask." The speaker was a silver haired boy. Hinata looked over and, eyes sparkling, ran towards the boy with his hands outstretched. 

"Suga-san!" 

The older boy smiled, clapping hands with the first year.

"Besides," Suga said, "if we're here we might be able to help for a bit." 

Kenma and his mother exchanged glances before sighing simultaneously. "Okay." They said, shaking their heads.  

Hinata shouted in excitement and grabbed Kenma's hands. "Hey, what does your room look like?" He asked before dragging Kenma off, leaving Suga and Kozume-san alone. 

(I guess I'll name her Kozume Chouko) 

"Kozume-san." 

"Y-yes?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to know what exactly the trouble is. That way, I won't be caught off gaurd and can better help anyone in trouble."

Chouko went pale, raising a hand to cover her mouth as she tried to stammer out words.  "I....ah. My... My husband." She says finally, hoping that with the information, he and Shoyo would be more willing to leave and stay out of danger.

Sugawara's eyes widen almost inperceptally. "Yes?"

"He's not often..... Uh, not often sober. Kenm tries to protect me, doesn't like to worry me, but he can't do anything about it, neither of us are particularly strong... And Kenma doesn't eat much.... In fact, i think the most he's eaten in weeks is the soup Hinata-kun made on his first day here."

Suga's eyebrow furrowed and he nodded. "Got it. I'm sure Hinat will force Kenma to eat, he knows how and what he should and shouldn't eat from something that happened in his middle school years. We never asked what but he's fine now and knows a lot about that kind of stuff." Suga says, eyes unfocused as if he was reminiscing about something in the past.

Suddenly he shook his head. "Anyways, we won't speak of it unless you wish us to. Not even Hinata, he knows what to be quiet about."

Seeing her doubtful expression, he laughed a bit. "I know, you wouldn't think it, right?" He said, before sighing. When he continued, his voice was prideful, but vaguely confused. "Hinata, he communicates with people amazingly well; he knows exactly what to say to put them at ease, can tell how they're feeling with a glance at their eyes, or if he knows them, just by the way they move. Not only that, but he has such a comforting, energetic presence." He finished, staring towards the stairs.

Chouko laughed. "You sound like a doting parent!" She said, smile not completely concealed behind her hand. 

Suga blushed, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah."

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "But, you know," he said, voice sad, "even cheerful, lively Hinata gets picked on. He's never been one to be able to hide his emotions. Apparently Tsukishima found some guys from the school beating Hinata after classes were over. Hinata was crying his eyes out and didn't stop trembling and shaking for over two hours. Tsukishima said that the first thing Hinata did when he saw Tsukishima was smile that big grin at him, before Tsukishime had even saved him.  Later, Tsukishima wouldnt let anyone near Hinata except for Yamaguchi. Hinata didn't protest at the time, so he must've still been pretty shaken."

Chouko listened with wide eyes, heart hurting for the bright kid upstairs at the story.

"Hinata later told us it was normal, and showed us a bunch of bruises all over him. Kageyama was so mad, he was considering teaming up with Tsukishima to go beat up the bullies. Thinking back now, it was sort of funny, in a way, but I remember." Suga said, pausing. 

"I remember thinking 'hey, why didn't I notice?' And then, when it kept happening, and Hinata kept coming to practice with worse and worse bruises, I thought 'why can't I help him, I'm so useless, I can't even protect my dear kouhai and friend'. But, when, the next day, when Hinata came to me to help him bandage his wounds, I realized...." Suga paused for a second, before looking right into Chouko's eyes.

"I realized, 'oh. I can still help. I can help, by being right here.' And, I guess, it wasn't long after that, maybe just a week, that the bruises stopped altogether."

Chouko felt his words seat in her mind. "Be there for him.... Heal him..." She murmured to herself, not noticing the smile of the teen in front of her.

"Goodnight, Kozume-san."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for today. Idk when the next chapter is but do t worry about it, idk


	3. Chapter 3

3

Kenma sighed as he started down the stairs. Hinata was asleep on a futon upstairs, but Suga was nowhere to be found, though he was most likely in the kitchen. 

He peeked into his mother's room as he passed by. She was in bed, reading a book. 

She glanced up at the opening of the door, a soft smile on her face, glasses perched on her nose. 

"Kenma!" She said happily, motioning for him to come in. "Did you sleep well?" 

Kenma shrugged, directing his gaze to the side. Truthfully, that night he'd had the best sleep since the first time his father had hit him.

"I see." She said quietly, a knowing glint in her eye. "Well, Sugawara-kun offered to make breakfast for us, so how about you wake up Hinata-kun and you two can walk to morning practice with Tetsuroo?" 

Kenma nodded,  and gave a small hug before leaving.

Peeking into the kitchen, Kenma jumped at the sight of his father lying prone on the floor, and a nonchalant Suga idly rubbing his hand as he cooked.

Kenma shook his head slightly, feeling his heart, previously hammering in his chest, calm down as he let out a relieved sigh.

Turning away, he was shocked to find a sleepy Hinata pretty much draped over him as the redhead fell asleep in his feet. 

Kenma clumsily caught the boy, taking a second to thank the gods that Hinata wasn't as big as Kageyama or Kuroo or Bokuto. Huffing. He made his way into the kitchen, avoiding his father and dumping Hinata in the nearest chair.

Suga smiled at him as he set down in his own chair. 

"What happened?" Kenma asked the other setter quietly. 

"Hmm...." Suga hummed. "He wasn't very polite, so I took care of it." He said, a pleasant smile on his face. 

Kenma sweatdropped, before looking over at the still-sleeping Hinata.

"We should wake him." He said, blinking at the near-unintelligible mumbles of volleyball and meat buns.

Suga shook his head. "I suppose. He was the first one up out of all of us. When I came downstairs he was sitting at the table, humming one of his songs. I told him there was still time, so he should go back to sleep."

Kenma blinked, frowning. "Doesnt he need to eat?" He said, shaking the redhead's shoulder.

Suga nodded, standing. He brought over two plates, placing one in front of Kenma and one in front of Hinata.

Hinata's head shot up at the smell of food, and he let out a series of noises before staring in. (GYEH! Eeeeeeeee Suga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) 

Kenma shook his head before reluctantly taking a bite of his own plate. It tasted remarkably well, so he continued to eat.

Hinata ate quickly, and despite starting after them, Hinata was the first to finish with his food. He gave a sleepy smile before getting up and starting on his way back to Kenma's room.

"I s'pose I'll get ready then!" He called lightly, heaving a huge sigh.

As he began to pass Kenma's father, he blinked in shock before turning questioningly to Kenma and Suga.

Kenma shrugged and turned back to his food while Suga smiled sweetly.

Accepting it with a mumble of words, Hinata left again.

Kenma finished soon after and followed Hinata's route up the stairs. Suga followed, stopping to greet Kenma's mother.

As he walked into the room, the first thing Kenma saw was Hinata, no shirt. Face flushing pink, Kenma turned and got clothes to practice in out.

When he turned back around, Hinata was dressed and swinging his legs freely as he sat on Kenma's bed.

When he saw Kenma's gaze, he smiled, before hopping up and padding to the door, a bounce in his step.

"I'll go ahead and go down, okay Kenma?" He said cheerily, before leaving, smiling at Sugawara as he came in the room.

Kenma nodded, pulling on his shirt before starting with socks and shoes. Suga started an idle conversation as he dressed, asking questions about Nekoma as a school, which Kenma answered easily.

Just as he was about to get his left sock on, a crash sounded from across the hall.

Eyes widening, Kenma stood and ran out of his room without a thought, sock left forgotten on the side of the bed. 

As he raced into the room the crash originated from, socked foot slipping on the floor, he was immediately frozen in place.

Hinata was curled on the floor, knees tightly to his chest, arms wrapped around them like a noose, head down, and fingernails digging into Hinata's flesh.

 As he watched, a thin stream of blood made its way around the curve of Hinata's arm.

Sugawara entered the room after him, gently pushing him in. As soon as he saw Hinata's state, he was immediately by the first-year's side, not touching him, but whispering words Kenma couldn't make out in between questions to Kenma's mother.

(Changed names. The family is now Kozume Kenma, Kozume Kaiyo, and Kozume Iwaō.)

Kaiyo shook her head.

"We were talking, waiting for you and Kenma to get ready, and I don't know, I guess I reminded him if something but he asked me to get you or Kenma, but before I got to you I heard something fall, so I came back and found him like this."

Suga just frowned. "What were you talking about?" He asked.

Kenma tuned him out. He'd come to kneel in front of Hinata, the boy shaking in front of him.  

It shocked him that bright, sunny Hinata was having a panic attack. 

He'd them before, so Kenma knew there wasn't always a reason. He was surprised the redhead had been able to call for he and Suga before it got this bad.

Kenma wished he knew what happened, why Hinata had attacks, though. It would tell him what to avoid and what to do.

As he saw another thread of blood flow down Hinata's arm, Kenma decided the best thing to do would be to get his nails away from his skin.

It seemed good at the time, but as soon abs Kenna's hands brushed over Hinata's, the boy jerked away violently, shaking that much harder, and he whispered words almost too quiet for Kenma to hear. He caught a few, though.

".......stop.......no...............ault......... leave...... lone...."

There was a long break before his next words. 

"......rry..........im sorry......"

Kenma's chest tightened, but he said nothing about it.

Instead, he started talking. He talked about volleyball, how it was sort of fun, having Karasuno there to practice with. How Lev's spikes were finally syncing up. About the Nekoma team's antics, like Yalu and Lev's peculiar relationship, or Yamamoto and Tanaka's mutual admiration of Kiyoko, and their strange friendship. He told Hinata about Kuroo and Bokuto, and the sort of comaradie that he felt with Akaashi, the Fukurodani setter. He spoke about the level he'd just completed as well, and the meatbuns Kuroo had said we're really good.

Eventually, Kenma noticed that Hinata was quiet and still. 

When Kenma reached for his hands, He gave them willingly.

Hinata raised his head and smiled at Kenma, despite the tears still visible on his face, even though he'd stopped crying. 

Kenma smiled back, unable to resist. 

He didn't notice the strange, secret-y look Suga was giving him and Hinata, but Kenma guessed that was okay. Even if he didn't realize it just yet, Hinata was all that mattered.

 

 

After that, everything went well. Or, at least, well enough. 

The only encounters he had with his father were short, and usually ended with Iwaō passed out or knocked out, either by Daichi's punch or Suga's pressure points. 

So the week was quite peaceful. 

It left Kenma with a feeling of "too good to be true."

He was right.

\----------------------

(some time later)

Kenma didn't even have to look at the clock or out the window that no sane person should willingly be awake at that time. 

But, he did look, and was greeted on one side by the darkness of Tokyo, and blinking number announcing 2:36 AM.

Unsure what woke him, the only solution he could find was the shorty at the doorway who looked guiltily at him, before waving a hand. 

"Sorry Kenma, I'm on my way to the bathroom. Go back to sleep."

If the room weren't as dark, or Kenna's eyes not as sleep-blurred, he might've seen the arm wrapped around Hinata's middle, the shakiness of his smile. 

As it was, his sleep-logged mind only allowed for the pillow as he sunk back to sleep.

\----------------------------

(morning)

Kenma had a sinking feeling of unease as soon as he woke. The paranoia that had been teasing at his mind since Hinata's attack came stronger as two things snapped into realization at the same time. 

1\. - The sight of Hinata, sleeping peacefully beside him in a tangle of blankets that he had become used to, sharing a sleeping place with Hinata (however in unconsciously), was missing. Suga was still asleep, however, so Kenma guessed that what Suga's earlier must've been true.

2\. - He heard the raised voice of his father, as well as that of his mother.

Not wasting time to think it over, Kenma immediately sped out of the room, accidentally kicking Suga on his way out. 

 

He paused for a split second in the hallway, listening. His father's loud, angry voice almost drowned out the soft, pleading one of his mother. But she wasn't pleading for herself. His thoughts were reinforced by a soft whimper, in a familiar voice.

As he peeked around the corner, he immediately started running, leaping towards Hinata in a desperate act to keep Hinata out of harms way.

He wasn't fast enough. The bottle previously flung at Hinata shattered on his arms, raised in a vain attempt to protect himself, a choked scream escaping the redhead's throat.

 

Kenma stared for a split second, assessing Hinata. Shards of glass were embedded in his arms, and a trickle of blood ran down the side of his face.

Kenma turned and narrowed his eyes at his father. 

How _dare_ he? How dare he hurt someone as bright and strong and cheerful and pure, someone as _warm_ as Shouyou?

Shouyou, who was always smiling and laughing and energetically bouncing around? 

Shouyou, who could communicate with anyone, bring anyone out of their shell? (Kenma knew, it'd happened to him.)

How dare he hurt Shouyou, so full of energy and enthusiasm and cheer and _light_ , how dare he?

How dare he hurt Shouyou, who Kenma was completely sure he was irreversibly, undeniably in love with.

 

So, Kenma got up, and went straight to his father, and punched him. The years of volleyball had made him that much stronger, and with Hinata making sure he ate every day, he'd gained back the strength of before. Add that together with the anger fueling him, well, Kenma had him out cold.

He could hear Suga on the phone, presumably with the police after acheiving Kaa-san's permission, but was ultimately more interested in Hinata.

The redhead was staring at his arms, as if in a daze, but he looked up when he felt Kenma's hand on his arm. 

Hinata studied Kenma for a second before smiling, big and bright, so big of a grin that his eyes closed, and Kenma thought he must hurt his cheeks doing that.

Kenma smiled back, unable to resist as he thought about his newfound revoation to himself. 

He focused back on Hinata, just in time to meet him for a kiss. Blushing, Kenma obliged happily, as he and Shouyou spoke at the same time.

"I love you."

Yes, Kenma thought. He loved Shouyou, and Shouyou loved him. 

And, they agreed silently, that was their forever.

 

(END~)

If you have questions, like about their life after, comment and I'll definitely answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote this like 3 times over cause I kept making the mistake of exiting the tab to try to research stuff and then coming back to find it POOF gone.
> 
> but yes, yes, any type of comment or question is welcomed.
> 
> (Please excuse my crappy writing)


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